Ecobank partners with AMA Academy to launch first pan-African Fintech training and awards for journalists
Lomé, Togo, 15 September 2022 /African Media Agency/ – Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African banking group, is committed to developing and supporting Fintechs to transform digital finance and banking, and today announces a partnership with AMA Academy, the only free-to-use pan -African online learning platform dedicated to upskilling journalists in Africa. Ecobank Group and AMA Academy will work together to develop customized fintech training modules for business, finance and technology journalists across the continent. The modules will be available in two languages: English and French.
The five-module curriculum will be taught online by industry experts and will culminate in recognition and other awards for Africa’s best fintech journalists. It will cover topics including the history of financial services in Africa, transformation, blockchain, AI in fintech and Open Banking. It will also cover security, regulation, governance, inclusion and future trends for the fintech market in Africa. The partnership aims to provide a deeper knowledge and understanding of the fastest growing industry on the continent and to improve the quality of reporting and have more effective public awareness.
Eloïne Barry, Founder and CEO of African Media Agency and AMA Academysaid “We are delighted to partner with Ecobank Group, which is at the forefront of fintech transformation and progression in Africa. Our academy is equally committed to improving the skills of journalists by creating access to experts and training. Journalists are often faced with more beats to cover, and our goal is to help support the quality and effectiveness of their reporting.”
Africa is responsible for an astonishing 45.6% of mobile money activity in the world – a phenomenon enabled by the rapid growth in access to the internet and smartphone devices, and further accelerated by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
According to tech industry researchers, in 2021 fintech companies received 60% of the over $4 billion investment in the tech industry, surpassing the total investment made in the broader tech startup ecosystem in previous years. An estimated 6 million young Africans gain access to the internet each year, providing ripe growth prospects in burgeoning fintech sectors such as agriculture, insurance, healthcare, clean energy and education; in addition to relatively unexplored areas such as crowdfunding, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
“Amidst all the positivity surrounding growth in the African fintech industry, there is a lack and imbalance in how this story is told and understood. The narrative today is driven by international media sources. We lack a strong home-made narrative with in-depth analysis of what is really going on in Africa, by Africans. This course will give journalists the confidence, skills and understanding required to become as relevant and competitive as journalists operating in the same field globally, Eloïne Barry added.
Djiba Diallo, Senior Fintech Advisor at Ecobank Groupcommented on the partnership, saying: “The continent has seen the emergence of ‘challenger markets’ beyond the traditional strongholds of Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, to include Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda, to name but a few. These are countries where Ecobank is present and where fintech media training will have a real impact. As a pan-African banking group, we are committed to growing local fintech solutions, many of which have the potential to become global solutions, and to empowering our local media partners.”
Fintech Journalist of the Year Award
Journalists who attend the full training modules will also have the chance to be awarded the best English-language and Francophone fintech journalist at an awards ceremony following the training.
Journalists based in Africa covering business, finance and technology should visit register for the fintech masterclass.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA)
AMA Academy Media Contact:
Ecobank Media Contact:
Christiane Bossom
Communications manager in the group
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +228 22 21 03 03
About the AMA Academy
The AMA Academy’s goal is to teach, train and certify 10,000 journalists and media professionals by 2027 in skills across all genres and industries of reporting in an effort to promote superior media storytelling. It also helps journalists learn how to monetize their craft and diversify their writing. AMA Academy is currently present in 23 African countries.
About Ecobank
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (‘ETI’) is the parent company of Ecobank Group, the leading independent pan-African banking group. Ecobank Group employs around 13,000 people and serves over 32 million clients from the consumer, commercial and corporate and investment banking sectors in 33 African countries. The group operates a banking license in France and has representative offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Johannesburg, South Africa; Beijing, China; London, United Kingdom and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The group offers a complete package of banking products, services and solutions, including bank and deposit accounts, loans, cash handling, consultancy, trading, securities, asset and capital management as well as digital offers. ETI is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos, the Ghana Stock Exchange in Accra and the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières in Abidjan. For more information, visit www.ecobank.com
The post Ecobank Partners with AMA Academy to Launch First Pan-African Fintech Training and Awards for Journalists appeared first on African Media Agency.
